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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

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Friday, January 21, 2011

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IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Jain Irrigation: Indian Firm Catches the Eye of Harvard B-School WASHINGTON (Zee): An award winning drip irrigation technology developed by an Indian company that has caught the attention of the Harvard Business School holds out hope for poor farmers from earthquake-hit Haiti to Africa.

Jalgaon (Maharashtra)-based agro, pipes, processed foods and irrigation major Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd (JISL), which has won Unesco’s Water Conserver Award and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) honour for its inclusive, sustainable business model, has been working with

small farmers in Haiti and has now been invited by several African nations to help them out.

“In Haiti we are working with the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation and Coca-Cola for developing a business model for small farmers,” Dilip Kulkarni, president Agro Foods, Jain Irrigation, said on phone from Boston, Massachusetts.

Kulkarni, who was in Boston last week to present the company’s business model at an agriculture symposium at the Harvard Business School, said: “We have developed a technology for mango production in Haiti where Coca-Cola is launching

a beverage called Haiti Hope.”

Jain Irrigation, he said, was giving technical support in terms of agronomy, technology of cultivation and starting a food processing unit in Haiti. The processing unit may, however, take a couple of years more to come up due to the conditions there.

By donating 100 percent of the profits from the sale of designated Haiti Hope beverages, the project will help facilitate Haiti’s recovery and create opportunity for 25,000 mango farmers and their families by developing a sustainable mango juice industry, Coca-Cola says.

“We have now been invited by Africa,” said Kulkarni detailing ongoing efforts to replicate its business model in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Swaziland and Uganda over the last six months.

The company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenyan Irrigation board.

With Kulkarni came two farmers from Maharashtra, Hemchandra Dagaji Tatya and Rajendra Hari Patil, to share their experiences and present their success story in using technology for agriculture at the Harvard Business school.

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Indo American News • Friday. January 21, 2011

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‘We Care’ Film Festival on Disability to Kickstart on Feb. 9 in Mumbai

prerequisite to physical acceptance. a sensitive manner.”

By Uttarika Kumaran MUMBAI (DNAI): The We With this aim, the festival mainly A need to address the dearth of Care Filmfest 2011 on Disability targets higher education institutions, Indian films that sensitively portray Issues was launched from the especially mass communication disability has been felt since the YB Chavan Centre on Monday. and journalism colleges. festival’s inception in 2003. Even A ‘travelling film festival’, this year, a considerable number it will start in Mumbai on of films has come from the February 9 and move on to US, Canada, Israel, Indonesia, other parts of India, including Spain, Italy and Brazil. the north-east.

The impact of the festival has Although the launch event been slow but steady. “Over the didn’t see the expected past three years, we’ve seen a turnout, Satish Kapoor, marked improvement in the director, is optimistic about quality of films,” says Kapoor. the festival’s reach in the This year, 67 films in four coming weeks. “Inclusion categories, ranging from one is not possible without minute up to 75 minutes, will spreading awareness and be screened. Among them the film medium is the best Lighting of the lamp at the Mumbai festival will be two films on leprosy. possible way to do that,” There will also be films from “These are students who have the the north-east, highlighting the he says.

A c c o r d i n g t o K a p o o r , power of media in their hands. We inclusive nature of north-eastern psychological acceptance of hope these films will teach them communities regarding people with disability among the abled is a how to portray disability issues in disabilities.

Other disability-related issues such as sexuality however, are yet to find an Indian voice. “We had one submission on sexuality but the filming was not up to the mark and the language was far too crass so it had to be left out,” said Yogesh Desai, preview committee member, and CEO, Helen Keller Institute for Deaf and Deafblind.

“Even after eight years of approaching corporate India and government agencies, we still

don’t have a confirmed sponsor for the festival,” revealed Rajiv Chandran, national information officer, United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan, one of the founding partners of the festival.

Kapoor is hoping to compile 60 award-winning films collected over the 8 editions of the festival and screen them on a wider scale. He is looking for partners in Mumbai.

Jain Irrigation - Indian Firm Catches the Eye of Harvard B-School

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Patil, a graduate in chemistry who once taught science and mathematics at a village school in Bhadgaon, told IANS how he once could not make two ends meet with his meagre income from his rainfed 1.5 acre farm.

Since switching to drip irrigation he has increased his annual income to Rs.4 million, cultivating banana, ginger, sunflower and cotton on seven acres of his own land and 60 acres of leased land.

Patil won the “Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Ratna Puraskar” in 2009 from Bharat Krushak Samaj, New Delhi, and “Udyan Pandit” 2010 award from the Maharashtra government.

Ta t y a , w h o received the ‘Kantabai Jain Pandhara Kanda Navtantra Puraskar’ in 2003 for highest productivity of white onion, detailed how he too had doubled his income since

taking up contract farming with JISL. Yield levels were marginal and profits low due to flood irrigation and irregular use of fertilisers for Tatya who grows onions, banana, cotton and maize.

But “micro-irrigation and fertigation has helped me raise the yield levels. The quality of the farm product has drastically improved, resulting in better prices in the market”, he said.

The pioneers of micro-irrigation systems in India, JISL is said to be the world’s second largest drip irrigation company with 146 offices worldwide.

Playing a lead role in the statesponsored micro irrigation scheme in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, JISL is engaged in contract farming for onion and vegetables, banana, mango, papaya and tomato puree, with over 10,000 farmers.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

Rupee Makes Gains, But Oil Importer Dealer Demand Weighs on Economy MUMBAI: The rupee extended gains for the second straight day, tracking Asian peers and some dollar inflows, but strong dollar demand from state-run banks on behalf of oil importers kept a lid on the rupee’s upside.

“I think the dollar demand by oil importers is for payment to Iran. But some (dollar) inflows are expected t o w a r d s t h e Ta t a Steel issue today and tomorrow from institutional investors,” said a dealer at a foreign bank.

Oil is India’s biggest import and refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the domestic currency market.

Ta t a S t e e l , t h e w o r l d ’s s e v e n t h largest steelmaker aims to raise as much as 34.77 billion rupees ($768 million). The company raised 5.08 billion rupees from 33 anchor investors on Tuesday. The share sale will close on Friday.

At 11:04 a.m. (0534 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 45.33/34 per dollar, up from Tuesday’s close of 45.42/43. It is expected to move in 45.25-45.45 band intraday, traders said.

Choppy domestic stocks kept the rupee in a range. Indian shares flip-flopped in early trade, underpinned by firm Asian markets.

Foreign funds are net sellers of $710 million worth of shares in the year to Monday after pumping in a record $29.3 billion in

2010.

“The view on the rupee has changed now.

People are no longer bullish on rupee as we saw quite bit of outflows this year. Also, India has a large current account deficit compared with other Asian countries,” said another foreign bank dealer.

Strength in Asian units along with a weak global dollar helped the rupee to hold on to its gains in early trade.

The dollar slid to a twomonth low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, as continued shortcovering in the euro helped spur a broad fall in the dollar.

The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.44 percent at 78.615 points. Most Asian currencies were stronger than the U.S. dollar on Wednesday.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.65, weaker than the onshore spot rate.

In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, and the MCX-SX were both at 45.4250, while on the United Stock Exchange the contract was at 45.4275. Total traded volume on the three exchanges was about $1.3 billion.

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Indo American News • Friday. January 21, 2011

Goldman Warns Against Investing in India, China LONDON (Siasat Daily): Goldman Sachs, the US investment banking giant, has issued a shortterm alert over investing in India and China due to the impact of rising inflation, advising clients to rotate into Wall Street and other bourses as a safer bet over coming months, a media report said Tuesday.

“We’re not as tactically positive on the BRIC as we have been,” said Tim Moe, the bank’s chief Asia-Pacific strategist, referring to the quartet of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the Daily Telegraph reported.

“To be frank, we may have held on too long to our overweight position in China last year. We have decided that discretion is the better part of valour and have tactically reduced our weight. Asia is not in the sweet part of the cycle.

The longer-term picture of Asia outperforming the US is taking a breather,” he said, speaking at a Goldman conference in London.

The cooling ardour for China is significant shift for the bank that coined the term BRIC and has been the cheerleader of the emerging market story over the past decade.

According to the report, India is an even bigger worry, with yawning twin deficits, and overheating visible on all fronts. The nation’s central bank warned this week of “surging inflation”.

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“India’s current account deficit is running at a record pace of 4.1 percent of GDP and it is 100 percent funded by short-term portfolio flows, which cannot be relied on indefinitely,” said Moe, describing Mumbai’s bourse as “crowded”.

Goldman insists that the longerterm super-boom remains healthy in both the BRIC nations and a broader group of countries, or “N-11”, led by South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey and Egypt.

Goldman expects China to rebound strongly in the second half of the year, distancing itself from the ultrabearish views of those such as hedge fund star Jim Chanos betting that Beijing will prove unable to engineer a soft landing from its property bubble.

The surprise for 2011 will be a torrid recovery in the US, with growth of 3.4 percent to 3.8 percent, as the country confounds critics and averts a post-bubble “Lost Decade”.

Even Japan will outshine China, pulling out of its deflation trap, with earnings growth of 23 percent this year and 22 percent in 2012.

Kathy Matsui, Goldman’s Tokyo strategist, said Japanese equities may be the best way to play the Pacific growth story since the average price-to-book ratio is 1.0, compared to 1.9 for China and the rest of emerging Asia.

Shiv Sagar

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Airbags are a type of automobile safety restraint like seatbelts. They are gas-inflated cushions built into the steering wheel, dashboard, door, roof, or seat of your car that use a crash sensor to trigger a rapid expansion to protect you from the impact of an accident.

Allen Breed was holding the patent (U.S. #5,071,161) to the only crash sensing technology available at the birth of the airbag industry. Breed invented a “sensor and safety system” in 1968, the world’s first electromechanical automotive airbag system. In 1971, the Ford car company built an experimental airbag fleet.

General Motors tested airbags on the 1973 model Chevrolet automobile that were only sold for government use.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

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Indo American News

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South Asia News of the Diaspora

Canada to Celebrate 2011 as ‘The Year of India in Canada’ TO R O N TO ( TO I ) : A t o p Canadian university will soon have a full-fledged India Chair to promote understanding and cooperation between the public and private institutions between the two countries, even as 2011 has been designated as ‘The Year of India’ in Canada.

The year would be launched with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Indian government and the Canada’s Carleton University in Ottawa on January 24 for setting up the India Chair at its Canada-India Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy.

SM Gavai, the High Commissioner of India in Canada will sign the MoU on behalf of the Government of India and Mme. Gisele Samson-Verreault, Chair, Board of Governors; Carleton University will sign the MoU on behalf of the University.

The Chair will be the forum to discuss and promote understanding and cooperation between the public and private institutions between India and Canada, Canada-India Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy was set up in February last year at the Carleton University which will now also become the first Canadian university to have a full-fledged India Chair.

The 2011 Regional PBD will be held in Toronto on June 9 and 10th. Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce is the nodal agency for the event.

The theme is Building Bridges: Positioning Strategy of the Indian Diaspora.

Indian Diaspora members in Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean countries are expected to attend the PBD Canada 2011 convention in large numbers.

For the first time, the 12th edition

of the IIFA awards will take place in Toronto later this year, which has become the first North American city to host the glittering ceremony,

agreements and MOUs already signed between two countries such as Civilian nuclear cooperation agreement; higher education; earth

2011.

A year-long Festival of India will be held across Canada and the prestigious IIFA film awards event

according to Indian consul general Preeti Saran.

The cultural ties between the two countries will receive a further boost by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards to be held in Toronto during June 16-19.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who is instrumental in getting the Bollywood awards show to Toronto, said at the Diwali celebrations in the provincial assembly here last month that he was eagerly looking forward to the star-filled extravaganza.

With the two countries pledging to double their bilateral trade from $5 billion in the next five years, ministerial visits from here are also likely to begin in January as about a dozen Canadian ministers and state premiers have visited India this year.

“Though there is no official word on who goes to India and when, we are definitely heading to India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in June 2010 helped establish the year 2011 as the Year of India in January with a minister,’’ said a in Canada. He’s seen visiting Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the G20 Summit. top Indo-Canadian businessman popularly known as the Oscars of sciences and mining and cultural will be held in Toronto from June who is often part of high-level trips Bollywood. cooperation.

16 to 19. to India.

The International Indian Film A nuclear deal signed during When Prime Minister Manmohan From India, Manmohan Singh Academy Awards (IIFA) takes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Singh announced the festival here became the first prime minister to place in a different world city each visit here in June, smoothening out in June, he said, “To foster close officially visit Canada this year in year. cultural bonds between almost three decades. Among topThe ceremony caps off India and Canada... we will level Indian leaders to visit Canada a four-day festival that organize a year-long festival were Commerce and Industry traditionally features a film of India in Canada in 2011. Minister Anand Sharma, Mines festival and industry forum.

This will showcase India’s Minister B. K. Handique, Planning Bollywood mega star rich cultural and art heritage Commission deputy chairman Amitabh Bachchan is the and promote greater tourism Montek Singh Ahluwalia and IIFA brand ambassador. and travel.’’ former minister of state for foreign Ontario premier Dalton The festival aims not only affairs Shashi Tharoor.

McGuinty in a statement said to showcase India’s rising Interestingly, Toronto also he was “thrilled” with the economic power but also its received a record 50,000 tourists decision of the IIFA. rich and vibrant soft power from India last year. “These A number of positive through cultural, musical numbers will go up at least 20 developments point to an and dance shows. percent this year,’’ according to upward trajectory in this “All kinds of things will Toronto Tourism vice president bilateral relationship. A sustained the last kink in their bilateral ties, be held to showcase our culture, Andrew Weir. The trend will only engagement of Canada with India is set to see the India-Canadian traditions, heritage, music, dance speed up in 2011. is evident from the number of relationship reach new heights in and cuisine to Canadians,’’

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANuARY 21, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Indo American News • Friday. January 21, 2011

INdIA

India, Japan Close to Civil Nuclear Accord 7 in Tokyo this year, aiming to expand people-to-people bilateral relationship.

Hatoyama, who also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hoped that India would uphold its unilateral moratorium on nuclear

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Govt. Offers Scholarships to Malaysians KUALA LAMPUR (Hindu): The Indian government has offered 20 scholarships to Malaysians wanting to pursue courses in ayurveda, siddha, homeopathy and unani in India for the years 2011-12.

The high commission has invited applications from Malaysian nationals who wish to pursue traditional system of medicine courses.

Eleven scholarships will be offered for the Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), five for the Bachelor of

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as Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Toshiba, all having advance civil nuclear energy technologies, to set up projects in India where the nuclear energy market is pegged at $150 billion. Japan currently meets 30 per cent of its energy requirements from nuclear plants and this is expected to increase to at least 40 per cent by 2017.

Talking about the summit being planned by the India Centre Foundation, Mr. Hatoyama said it would give the much-needed impetus to cooperation between the two nations in various fields.

“Japan is committed t o I n d i a ’s g r o w t h a n d development…the proof of it is the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor being developed out of financial assistance from Japan. We need to forge similar collaborations,” he added.

With official ties between New Delhi and Tokyo on The former prime minister of Japan, Yokio Hatoyama, meeting the the rise, the idea to organise Union minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Anand Sharma, in a Summit comes as private initiative of the India Centre New Delhi on January 17.

Foundation, which has the of nuclear power. tests and underscored the sensitivity support of Mr. Hatoyama and Sam “India and Japan have come to Japanese people attached to it given Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister a stage of concluding the nuclear that it was the only nation to suffer on Technology.

Hatoyama, who serves on the cooperation agreement…we can a nuclear attack. help India set up nuclear plants The negotiations for the nuclear Foundation’s Advisory Board, to meet its growing demand for agreement were launched on June stressed on the need to take the energy,” Hatoyama said after 28 when officials from Japan bilateral relations beyond the announcing the India-Japan Global and India met for the first round official engagements and enlarge Partnership Summit 2011, which in Tokyo. The agreement will it by bringing the two societies will be held from September 5 to enable Japanese companies such closer.

NEW DELHI (Hindu): The former Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, on Monday said India and Japan were close to finalising a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. He also assured full help and cooperation to India in the field

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

Centre Hopeful of Greener Coal Technology in Two Years NEW DELHI (Business Standard): The Union coal ministry hopes that the country’s coal-fired power plants would adopt environment-friendly technologies in the next two years.

The ministry is currently mulling over two clean coal technologies — coal to liquid and underground coal gasification — being used in South Africa.

Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had visited the African nation last month with senior government and Coal India Limited (CIL) officials in this regard.

“The ministry has asked CIL to prepare a detailed proposal about the speedy adoption of coal to liquid technology,” Jaiswal said.

Coal to liquid technology could be adopted without much capital investment in existing plants, while underground coal gasification technology was still in its preliminary stage.

The minister said with rising industrialisation and economic growth in the country, the demand for energy was bound to increase and coal being the primary source of energy is required to be harnessed at a greater pace.

“Our ministry shares the concern of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) about the need to conserve our ecology, since greater use of coal for energy would definitely put pressure on the environment,” he added.

He further said, nuclear energy and thorium era are still eight to 10

years and 25 years away for India and till then coal demand would continue to rise.

The Centre had put coal import under open general license (OGL)

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is also importing some coal.”

Jaiswal said the coal ministry had allocated two coal blocks to

Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal with South African Energy Minister Esperanca Bias during a meeting for cooperation in the area of coal at Pretoria. Two new methods - liquifying coal and underground coal gasification is aimed at making coal use much greener. It will significantly reduce the carbon emissions and allied toxins that is generated into the air. Union Coal Minister Sriprakash says that this will be a boost in Indian technology to harness coal in a much more environmentally friendly way.

Photo: Hindu

allowing private and public companies to import coal. “Coal demand is high in the sponge iron, cement and power sectors. The private sector is importing about 71 million tonnes of coal, while

Uttar Pradesh, however, the government was yet to make any headway. “I reiterate that coal supply would not pose any constraint to Uttar Pradesh’s thermal power production.”

India also sought the cooperation of the South African Government to enable Indian companies to acquire coal assets and also help them develop clean coal technologies.

Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal along with a high-level delegation comprising Coal Secretary C. Balakrishnan and Coal India Chairman Partha Bhattacharya is on a four-day visit to South Africa and Mozambique.

Jaiswal said Coal India was interested in acquiring coal assets in South Africa .

South African Minister of Mineral Resources assured Indian companies, her government support.

India sought cooperation for technologies on underground coal gasification and coal beneficiation besides modern technology for underground coal mining from South Africa. The coal to liquid technology is being applied in two domestic coal blocks of 1.5 million capacity each. The South African government offered the expertise of its companies in setting up coal washries, deep coal mining technology and clean coal technology, while inviting investments in the South African coal sector.

A number of Indian companies have evinced interest in buying assets in South Africa, including CIL, which accounts for over 85 per cent of the domestic coal production, NMDC, MOIL and Tata Steel.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, January 21, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

31

This Week in History BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR POWER Prime Minister Nehru said in Bombay on January 16, 1961 that the benefits of nuclear power which would be available as a result of the new facilities at the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay would serve a useful purpose in expediting the changes being brought about in India. The Prime Minister was inaugurating the Rs. 10-crore CanadaIndia Reactor at Trombay.

INDIA-WEST PAKISTAN BORDER India and Pakistan on January 16, 1948 began withdrawals from the area (near the Indo-West Pakistan border) which are to be handed over to each other as a result of the border settlement concluded last year between the two countries.

STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS Mr. Shriman Narayan, Member, Planning Commission, on January 15 called for efforts to improve the efficiency of primary school teachers by raising their economic and social status.

32

Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

WILDLIfe

Asiatic Black Bear Cub Returned to the Wild

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK, (WTI): An Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) cub admitted to the IFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) by the Assam Forest Department officials after it was found in a village near Kaziranga National Park, was returned to the wild on Saturday.

The bear had ‘strayed’ into Dagaon. Estimated to be around eightmonths-old, the male sub-adult bear was alone and no evidence of its mother was found from nearby forests.

“Although weaning takes place at about five months of age, bear cubs normally spend about two years with their mother. This cub must have been separated from its mother to be wandering into human settlements, perhaps for food,” said Dr Rathin Barman, Coordinator, WTI. Fearing conflict with people, it was captured and brought to CWRC. “The bear was spotted in the village by locals who informed the Forest Department of its presence.

Since we didn’t see its mother

around we had to capture it and shift it to CWRC,” said Atiqur Rehman, Range Officer, Kohora, who

Listed under Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and classified ‘vulnerable’ in the

>> Rehabilitated Tiger in Manas

most suited for the tiger’s release.

Accordingly, it was radio-collared for post-release monitoring and released in Manas.

With no attacks on humans reported since then, this incident promises to strengthen the case for rehabilitation of tigers that accidentally come into conflict with people.

“The photographs acquired through camera-traps indicate its survival in the wild. And, there has been no report of attacks on people by this tiger since its release, presenting a hope that rehabilitation can be a viable option for tigers involved in conflicts,” said Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Operating Officer, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

The 8 month old Asiatic Black Bear that strayed into Dagaon, was released back into the Kaziranga park. Photo: Dr Rathin Barman

was present during the rescue.

“We kept the bear under observation for a day. It was quite healthy and rather aggressive. We microchipped it and released it within the park limits,” said Dr Abhijit Bhawal, CWRC veterinarian.

IUCN Red List of threatened species, the Asiatic black bear faces threats from poaching and habitat destruction. WTI has handled 19 cases involving displaced bears in Assam, which were between the age of one and 12 months.

Photos Confirm Survival of Rehabilitated Tiger in Manas

MANAS NATIONAL PARK (ASSAM), (WTI) : An adult male tiger, captured following conflicts with people in Sibsagar district in northern Assam and released in Manas National Park more than

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eight months ago, was photographed in the wild last month.

The tiger was tranquilised and captured from a human settlement by the Assam Forest Department assisted by IFAW-WTI (Interna-

tional Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India) to mitigate conflict that resulted in the death of two persons in March. After short-listing three potential areas, Manas NP was decided as the

Generally, cases of human-carnivore conflicts, especially those resulting in human deaths, end up with the animal being killed or resigned to a life in captivity.

“In most cases when tigers involved in conflicts are captured, a

nagging fear of further conflicts sways the decision against the animals’ favour; they are put away “safely” in zoos. Additionally, adult males have a ‘homing’ tendency raising doubts on success in such translocation. However, in this case, the authorities took a call in favour of giving another chance to the animal and it has paid off,” Dr Ashraf said, adding that the tiger needs to be continuously monitored.

Although the post-release monitoring continued, no signals were received from the tiger’s collar after a month from its release.

“We began receiving the signal since mid-November again, after a long gap. In midDecember, it was photo-captured in camera traps placed by Aaranyak, ATREE and WWF-India. We are continuing to track it, though the signals received are inconsistent as the battery on the radio collar is dying. The radio collar is expected to drop off anytime now. There has been no direct conflict with people but we are trying to find out if it is involved in cattle-lifting,” said Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, Manager, WTI, who is overseeing the monitoring.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SCIENCE

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

33

Chandra X-Ray Observatory Images Torrent of Star Formation

BOSTON (Space Daily): A new Chandra X-ray Observatory image of Messier 82, or M82, shows the result of star formation on overdrive. M82 is located about 12 million light-years from Earth and is the nearest place to us where the conditions are similar to those

when the Universe was much younger with lots of stars forming.

M82 is a so-called starburst galaxy, where stars are forming at rates that are tens or even hundreds of times higher than in a normal galaxy. The burst of star birth may be caused by a close encounter or collision with an-

other galaxy, which sends shock waves rushing through the galaxy.

In the case of M82, astronomers think that a brush with its neighbor galaxy M81 millions of years ago set off this torrent of star formation.

M82 is seen nearly edge-on with its disk crossing from about 10 o’clock to about 4 o’clock in this image from Chandra (where low, medium, and high-energy X-rays are colored red, green, and blue respectively.)

Among the 104 point-like X - r a y sources in the image, eight so far have been observed to be very bright in X-rays and undergo clear changes in brightness over periods of weeks and years.

This means they are excellent candidates to be black holes pulling material from companion stars that are much more massive than the Sun. Only a handful of such binary systems are known in the Local Group of galaxies containing the Milky Way and M31.

Chandra observations are also important in understanding the rapid rate at which supernovas explode in starburst galaxies like M82. When the shock waves travel through the galaxy, they push

on giant clouds of gas and dust, which causes them to collapse and form massive stars.

These stars, in turn, use up their fuel quickly and explode as supernovas. These supernovas produce expanding bubbles of multimillion-degree gas that extend for millions light-years away from the galaxy’s disk. These bubbles are seen as the large red areas to the upper right and lower left of the image.

Photo Credit: NASA Images.

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Messier 82 galaxy, also known as the M82 is 12 million light years from Earth, a place where lots of younger stars are forming

CARTOON - SANDEEP ADHWARYU • Outlook

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli takes a dive to try and catch out South African Graeme Smith during the 2nd One Day International (ODI) between India and South Africa at Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg on January 15, 2011. India ended their innings all out for 190 runs.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

li f e s t y l e t r e nds

Prince Charles: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Powers a ‘Utopia for Poorest Indians’

Prince Charles’ next project is to start a township for the poorest in India with 3,000 homes, schools, shops and other amenities

K O L K O T TA ( F E ) : P r i n c e Charles wants to build an ecofriendly shanty town near Kolkata or Bangalore for 15,000 poor Indians, inspired by the one he saw in Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, a media report said.

The multi-million-pound venture plan includes schools, shops and 3,000 homes in a tiny area the size of 14 football pitches, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

In fact, the heir to the British throne plans to turn a 25-acre swathe of Indian wasteland on the outskirts of either Kolkata or Bangalore into a “mini oasis in the desert”, to be modelled on Poundbury, the Dorset model village that has been Prince Charles’s 30-year

pet project.

“When you enter (shanty town) what looks from the outside like an immense mound of plastic and rubbish, you immediately come upon an intricate network of streets with miniature shops, houses and workshops, each one made out of any material that comes to hand.

“We have a great deal to learn about how complex systems can self-organise to create a harmonious whole,” the newspaper quoted the Prince as saying.

Prince Charles’ charity Foundation for the Built Environment, which will open its first overseas office in Mumbai this year, will undertake the project in India.

The new town, for mainly lowcaste residents, will be “high-density but pleasant”, a spokesman for Prince said.

Large roofs overhung with palm trees will collect rainwater which will be used for showering, washing and in toilets before being recycled t o water plants.

Instead of the o p e n sewage, residents will have individual toilets and waste facilities, the report said.

The spokesman added: “It really is about making these communities great places to live even though the natural conditions may at first appear to make it difficult. India is fairly dry and dusty, and methods like rainwater collection would enable whole communities to be green oases year round.

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Young Indian Parents Put Child’s Education Before Retirement, Health

BANGALORE: With education in metropolitan cities in India becoming increasingly expensive, young parents are readjusting their lifestyles to ensure their child’s education. A whopping 97% of Bangalore’s young parents say they’re saving primarily for their children’s education.

This was a major finding of research on savings and investment practices by young parents in India by Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) for Aviva Life Insurance.

While 32% parents across the country are avoiding shopping, only 6% of parents in Bangalore are avoiding unnecessary shopping.

Also, 77% in the city opined that cost of education will be skyhigh in the future, 62% think they should start savings immediately, and half the population of young parents fears they won’t be able to afford higher education for their children.

The economic slowdown has again played a great role in savings. More young parents are planning for their children and taking up child plan insurance schemes and looking for flexible premiums so that when the market bounces back and their incomes soar, they can pay higher premiums.

More than 67% young parents in India give their child’s education priority over retirement and health — Bangalore alone saw 60% prioritizing child’s education over retirement.

The traditional mindset of parents wanting their children to become engineers and doctors hasn’t seen much change — 26% parents still insist their children take up engineering and medicine. But Bangalore shows a major shift, with 55% parents leaving it to their children to decide.

Saving for kid’s marriage has taken a back seat — only 33% of Bangalore’s parents think of this as a priority.

Methodology : Face-to-face interviews of 2,250 persons across 10 cities Bangalore parents in focus: 41% Want their kids to become doctors 29% Want their kids to become engineers 9% Want their kids to do an MBA course 37% With children between 0 and 3 years have started saving 38% With children between 6 and 10 years have started saving 6% Cut down unneccessary expenditure 3% Avoided shopping

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

HEALTH

A Third of Indians Surf the Net for Health Info: Survey

MUMBAI (ET): Nearly 40 per cent of Indian respondents of a global online poll said they used the internet to search for healthrelated information.

Findings of the 12-nation poll, released by Max Bupa Health Insurance , said that the high cost of face-to-face consultations with medical professionals may be one reason for the trend.

“More than one third Indians (39 per cent) go online for health information. The per centage of people using the internet for finding health solutions in other emerging nations are Russia (39 per cent),

China (32 per cent), Brazil (29 per cent) and Mexico (27 per cent),” the company’s director (marketing) Shefali Chhachhi said.

The research also indicated that use of the internet to search for health information varied with age and its use dropped sharply for those above 35 years of age.

“The primary use of the internet for health purposes is finding information about medicines (68 per cent of respondents) in all countries. Other uses include searching for information to make a self-diagnosis (46 per cent) and seeking other patients’ experiences (39 per

cent),” she said.

The survey also indicated that nearly 28 per cent of the respondents from India in the higher income bracket made use of the internet to search for information often, compared with 21 per cent of the lower and middle income groups.

The research also pointed out that more young people (18-24 and 25-34 years) relied on social networking sites.

“As many as 18 per cent of respondents were using social networking sites to find out about healthcare issues,” Chhachhi said.

Six Stress-Busting Foods that Will Make You Feel Better

WASHINGTON (ANI): Having a stressful day at the office? Here’s something you should know what you eat can have big impact on how you feel.

Dietician Cynthia Sass said that certain foods could reduce stress, relieve anxiety, and make you feel

better, reports CBS News.

Sass, co-author of ‘Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches,’ pointed to a several foods to consider when you’re on edge.nacks during a stressful day at the office Reach for raw veggies with hummus and a glass of ice water as an afternoon snack. Produce is loaded with water and chock full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that counter the effects of stress.

In a British food and mood study, over 70 percent of the participants reported that upping their water and produce intakes improved their mood and 25 percent said that a few simple dietary changes reduced both panic attacks and anxiety.

Before a presentation in the morning: Drink Tea. Enjoying tea leisurely doesn’t just feel good; it’s good for you. A Japanese study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, conducted with over 40,000 people, found that levels of psychological stress were 20 percent lower in those who drank at least five cups of green tea per day compared to those who drank less than one cup per day.

The results held true even after

accounting for factors such as age, sex, medical history, body mass index, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and diet.

While watching an intense sporting event: Rice crispy treats made with puffed BROWN rice or a mixture of puffed whole grains.

Carbohydrates boost calming serotonin levels. Using whole grain puffs in this recipe boosts the nutritional value and won’t cause the same type of spike and drop in blood sugar you might experience

when you eat all refined carbs, which can lead to irritability, moodiness. Oranges: Keep yourself busy with peeling the orange.

Plus it’s a great source of vitamin C. When in-laws come over for dinner: Serve a garden salad with fresh beets. One cup supplies over 30 percent of the folate needed daily. Because of its link with the nervous system, too little folate has been known to trigger mental fatigue, forgetfulness, confusion and insomnia. In addition, several common medications can deplete the body’s supply of folate, including cholesterol-lowering drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, diabetes medications and birth control pills.

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Chikungunya Fever in Asia and Regions of India Still On

(CDC): Since 2006, parts of Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean region have reported chikungunya fever activity. Today, the epidemic still continues with people getting sick in various parts of India and Asia.

Chikungunya fever is a disease caused by a virus that is spread to people through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms can include sudden fever, joint pain with or without swelling, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, and a rash or skin irritation that may be red, itch, or spread from one area to another.

In September 2010, sources in France reported a case of chikungunya in a person who had recently traveled to India. This outbreak is of particular concern since chikungunya is not usually reported in France. Active surveillance and control measures are under way in the area.

Advice for Travelers: No medications or vaccines are available to prevent a person from getting sick with chikungunya fever. Take the following steps to protect yourself from mosquito bites.

When outdoors or in a building that is not well screened, use insect repellent on uncovered skin. If sunscreen is needed, apply before insect repellent.

Look for a repellent that contains

one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin (KBR 3023), Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus/ PMD, or IR3535. Always follow the instructions on the label when you use the repellent.

In general, repellents protect longer against mosquito bites when they have a higher concentration (%) of any of these active ingredients.

The American Academy of Pediatrics approves the use of repellents with up to 30% DEET on children over 2 months of age.

Protect babies less than 2 months old by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit. Wear loose, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors.

For greater protection, clothing may also be sprayed with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent. (Remember: don’t use permethrin on skin.)

Seek medical care right away if you contract Chikungunya. Although there is no specific treatment for the disease, a doctor may be able to help treat your symptoms. Avoid getting any other mosquito bites, because if you are sick and a mosquito bites you, it can spread the disease to other people.

Texting Before Going to Bed ‘Disrupts Sleep and Mood’

For preventing depression from soaring holiday bills: Whip up a Portobello burger (or Portobello fajitas). Mushrooms are rich in selenium, which studies have linked a deficiency of to a higher risk of depression, anxiety and fatigue.

WASHINGTON (ANI): It may be time for you to put you cellphone aside before going to bed for it might affect your sleep and moods, according to a study.

Text messaging and other electronic communication media were linked to excessive movement during sleep, insomnia, and leg pain at night in students ages 8 to 22, Dr. Peter G. Polos of JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., and colleagues found.

The report linked “high rates of daytime cognitive or mood problems ... including ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties,” with latenight usage of mobiles and other electronic media.

“Attempts at limiting use at bedtime appear to be reasonable,” ABC News quoted the researchers as saying.

They suggested that parents set appropriate times for text messaging and other technology use and take proactive steps like moving computers out of the bedroom.

The participants averaged 33.5 text messages or e-mails sent per night to an average of 3.7 people for a total of 3,404 text messages per person per month.

These occurred from 10 minutes

to four hours after bedtime.

“Research shows that the problem is increasing, so it is more important than ever for physicians to ask questions about technology use when evaluating children for sleep issues,” said Dr. David D. Gutterman of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

travel

Goa Could Soon be on NRI Holiday Radar

PANAJI (NEW KERALA): Goa members owning more than 20,000 According to state tourism dicould soon emerge as a favoured hotels across the US. It also repre- rector Swapnil Naik, the tourism holiday destination of US-based sents a share of over 45 percent of department was due to conduct a non-resident Indians (NRIs) who the entire mid-scale hotel industry, road show in the US to promote visit India on their annual sojourn, worth a total of USD 128 billion in Goa as a prime tourist destination. a tourism body said here.

“We are looking to actively property value.

Atlanta-based Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) spokesman C.K. Patel told reporters that modalities were being worked to assist diverting this annual traffic of NRIs to Goa for a “few days in paradise”.

“Every year, a large number of Indian residents in the US visit their homes in India. We can assist in diverting some of this traffic to Goa for a holiday,” said Patel.

A 34-member delegation of the AAHOA is in Goa to interact with tourism officials and the tourism and travel industry Goa’s State tourism is soon planning to launch a roadshow here in the US to stakeholders and to scout help promote its beaches as a prime tourist destination. Starting February, the for other investment op- state tourism board in Goa is seeking the help of the Asian American Hotel portunities in the state. Owners Association to make their tourism campaign successful Patel, who is a key member on the travel and tourism AAHOApresident Fred Schwartz promote Goa in the US and are advisory board assisting the US said that Goa was a global tourism grateful for the support offered by administration, added: “We will destination and that a familiarisa- AAHOA. Goa Tourism has planalso be taking up the issue of re- tion trip for leading stakeholders ner a series of road shows in the laxation of visa norms with the US of the US hospitality industry to US in February and have sought the assistance of AAHOA in makgovernment for Indian travellers Goa was on the cards. and expect the Indian government “Through our strong network ing these road shows a success,” to do the same on a reciprocal ba- and viral marketing initiatives, we he said. sis”. will assist in channelising these The AAHOA represents 10,000 visitors to Goa,” he said.

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Indian Medical Tourism:

An emerging opportunity for corporate hospitals NEW DELHI (PR News): The Indian medical tourism is emerging as one of the most attractive medical tourism destinations in the world. The factors such as high cost of treatments in the US and UK, has been forcing patients to look for cost-effective destinations to get their treatments done.

Consequently, emerging economies such as India, Brazil and Malaysia have emerged as a better option for patients as these offer high quality healthcare services at a cheaper cost. The preference for India is evident from the fact that approximately 870,000 patients visited the country in 2009 and infusing USD 880 million in the economy. The key objective of the report is to study the emerging opportunities and future prospects in the Indian medical tourism market. The report discusses various industry trends and growth drivers that are fueling growth in the market and tries to study their impact

on the future scenario.

The research has found the government initiatives and branding efforts are going to be the major success factor for the Indian industry.

The report “Indian Medical Tourism: An Emerging opportunity for Corporate Hospitals” also includes information on the key players in the industry and does a competitive benchmarking of these players. Key findings of the report are: • The strong branding efforts of private players and government are going to be the major growth driver for the Indian medical tourism industry. • The medical tourism in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 10 per cent over the next few years. This growth figure may attract many healthcare services providers worldwide to invest in the Indian healthcare space.

• Most of the growth is likely to be in the complex treatment segments like cardiac and cancers.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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sports

Yusuf’s Sixes Power India vs. South Africa

By Sriram Veera CAPE TOWN (Cricinfo): Yusuf Pathan swung the game India’s way with three brutal shots and Harbhajan Singh sealed the win with two violent game-breaking hits. Morne Morkel had threatened to derail India’s chase with an inspired performance but it was India who held their nerve, and took a 2-1 lead in the series. India were 104 runs adrift of the target when Yusuf cemented his World Cup spot by biffing Johan Botha for three sixes in an over to push India ahead. When he fell, 39 runs short of the target, Harbhajan crashed Wayne Parnell and Morne for stunning sixes at vital moments of the chase to clinch the game, with 10 balls to spare.

India had lost five wickets and looked down for the count on a sluggish pitch where stroke-making wasn’t easy when Yusuf launched a violent Yusuf Pathan’s three sixes in an over off assault on Botha. He Botha started India’s revival muscled three sixes, the bouncers every ball, and today, too, last of which flew out of the stadium, to loot 19 runs in the that temperament was on display.

Until that game-breaking 30th over 30th over. Yusuf added 75 runs with Suresh Raina, who threw his wicket bowled by Botha, it was South Afaway with a wild shot in the 37th rica who held the edge, courtesy of over, before falling in the 40th to a Morne. He dismissed the in-form Vistunning catch by Morne, who arched rat Kohli to put India in trouble early, back to pouch an upper cut over his later got rid of Raina to resuscitate head at third man. His dismissal put fading hopes, and grabbed a stunning South Africa ahead but Harbhajan catch to dismiss Yusuf, but still had to seized the moment. He added 26 end up on the losing side.

In hindsight, South Africa will feel runs with Zaheer Khan before stitching together another 15 with Ashish they were 25 runs short. A shaky Nehra to take India home. Harbhajan Graeme Smith was the reason South took the Powerplay in the 43rd over, Africa dawdled at the start, and it was smote Parnell for a six over wide mid- also due to him that they stayed afloat off in the 45th, and flat-batted Morne, for a while. However, his dismissal in bowling his last over, beyond long- the 23rd over left them wobbling at 90 for 4, but JP Duminy and the debutant off in the 47th to kill the contest.

Control was a loose concept during Faf du Plessis showed admirable mathe match as whenever South Africa turity to revive the innings and give it got ahead, India pulled them back respectability. du Plessis’ serenity under pressure and vice versa. In the end Yusuf’s innings proved the difference. Yusuf’s was reflected by the fact that he hit strength is his mental tenacity. His his first boundary - a crisp cut off short-ball woes are well documented Yuvraj Singh - after he had reached but he rarely lets a delivery in his hit- 39. It’s not a criticism but a tribute to ting arc go unpunished. Unlike Raina, his mature approach that there were he doesn’t hang back and expect just two shots that stood out in his

innings: the first was that cut shot and the second, which came after his half-century, was a skillful one that hinted at a larger repertoire that he had deliberately held under check. He went down the track to Munaf Patel, adjusted to the slower one, and managed to punch it on the up and over mid-off. Mostly, he kept things risk-free like an experienced pro and dealt in calculated nudges and pushes. He brought up his half-century with a dab to the on side and brought up the century partnership with Duminy, in the 44th over, with a swatted pull through midwicket.

For his part, Duminy, who set off South Africa’s collapse in the second ODI at the Bull Ring by holing out to long-on, too remained patient and worked the angles.

He flicked and square drove and adjusted to the slow pace.

The ball didn’t come on to the bat neatly but he waited on the front foot, to steer and dab his way through the difJohan ficult period. However, both batsmen fell in the space of four deliveries, after they took the Batting Powerplay in the 45th over, and South Africa crumbled in the end overs, losing their last six wickets for 20 runs.

It was a torrid time for Smith, first against Zaheer, and soon against everyone. However, perhaps due to the brittle nature of the lower order, he never dared to hit his way out of trouble. During a sequence of 11 deliveries from Zaheer when he was beaten nine times, Smith actually looked at the bowler and smiled.

There was a touch of embarrassment in it but it was also a smile of a man who seemed to have accepted the situation he was in; he chose to graft and was willing to look ugly from then on. Considering what happened in Johannesburg, where Smith made 77 but the batting collapse after he was out, it was perhaps the right thing to do as his team needed its leader to fight. Inspired by his grit, Duminy and du Plessis batted with care to propel South Africa to a fighting total but Yusuf and Harbhajan did enough to chase it down.

Indo American News • Friday, January 21, 2011

39

Pak Settles for Draw, Series Win WELLINGTON (Cricinfo): Pakistan weathered a hostile opening spell that reduced them to 42 for 3 in the first hour, worked their way to safety in the second session, and made a half-hearted attempt to win the Test before settling for a draw that gave them the series 1-0.

It was their first victory outside the subcontinent since the triumph in New Zealand in 2003-04, and their first anywhere since 2006-07.

It was another impressive result for a team that has managed to hold its own on the field - with Test wins against England and Australia, and a drawn series against South Africa - despite facing a mountain of problems off it.

Pakistan’s resistance was led by Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan for the second time in the match, after Chris Martin and Tim Southee had hustled out the top three.

The action unraveled at a furious pace in the morning before settling into classic Test-match grind during the afternoon.

New Zealand’s woes were compounded by Daniel Vettori’s disappointing show, on a pitch where even Mohammad Hafeez’s part-time fare had turned viciously on day four. As things transpired, Pakistan adopted the path of complete caution, which ultimately left them short of time to push for a win against an attack that withered, despite a late surge from Vettori in his last Test as captain.

New Zealand’s bowlers began in stark contrast to the manner in which they finished. Martin bounded in from wide of the crease and bent his inswingers into the right-handers, while Southee got his legcutters to straighten lethally.

Their menacing rhythm crippled Pakistan’s chase before they could find their bearings.

Taufeeq Umar succumbed first ball, as Southee got one to land on off stump, straighten and burst through the forward press to hit the back pad. Martin got the inswingers going, and mixed them cleverly to plant seeds of doubt in the batsmen’s minds.

Hafeez was conscious to push forward and negate the inward movement, but ended up groping for the ones that held their line. He played one off a thick outside edge through the covers, and survived a possible edge off Martin that um-

pire Rod Tucker did not spot.

Tempers frayed, and words were exchanged between Southee and Hafeez following a couple of pacy short balls that were dispatched to the boundary, but Martin plugged away without a fuss. Azhar Ali walked into a flick to be trapped by another inswinger, and Younis barely survived a couple of deliveries that whistled past his outside edge. Hafeez eventually ran out of luck, as Martin enticed him to edge one behind, and the dejected batsmen slapped his helmet with the bat in admonishment as he walked off.

Younis overcame the uncertain start to settle down with an assurance that justified his enviable fourth-innings record. With the ball losing its shine, Martin’s inswing disappeared, allowing Younis to pick him for boundaries behind square, straight and through gully.

Vettori held the key, but his ineffectiveness was epitomised by the fact that his only weapon was the quicker one that skidded through.

Younis handled him with clear and decisive footwork, while Misbah resorted to playing inside the line with soft hands.

With the main bowlers failing in their opening spells after lunch, Vettori resorted to James Franklin who nearly produced the breakthrough. With the score on 108, Misbah carved him uppishly past the covers, his only major error on a day of immense resolve. On either side of that blemish, Misbah was so efficient that he was almost completely unnoticed. He only opened up with tea in sight, pulling and steering Southee off the back foot to take his side past 150. Misbah’s approach meant the spotlight was completely on Younis, and his trademark flourish shone through despite the dullness of the proceedings.

Realising that Pakistan had shut shop, Vettori brought some fielders close in and removed Shafiq in the 84th over. It was the first time in the day that he had managed to look threatening, and it had come too late for his side. His loud appeals as the game sputtered to a close were in contrast to Misbah’s unwavering calmness. The battle may have ended in stalemate, but Misbah had won the war for his side.

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